India open on losing note
The Indian representational team put up a spirited performance but lost all their three matches on the first day of the 16th International Racquetball Federation world championships in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, on Sunday.
Ashish Mehta, the 33rd seed, began their campaign against Pedro Manolo Sandoval of Guatemala in the men’s singles division. Mehta made the 32nd seed fight for every point but could not stop the Guatemalan from winning the match 15-7, 15-4.
Venkat Vijju, making his debut at the world championships, was next against 34th seed Abraham Mercado from Puerto Rico.
Viju lost the first set 14-15 but came back to pocket the second set 15-10 pushing the match into a tie breaker.
The tie breaker was keenly contested and Viju was unlucky to lose the set and match 15-14, 10-15, 11-10.
In the last match of the day, Sathwik Rai and Nirup Shetty paired up against the Puerto Rican pair of Santiago and Mercado.
This match also followed a similar script as Vijju’s match as the duo lost the opening game but won the second to push the match into a tie break.
However, they failed to close out the match as the their Puerto Rican opponents quelled their challenge to emerge victors with a scoreline of 15-9, 11-15, 11-10.
On the second day of the championships, Vijju will face Sandoval while Mehta will be up against Mercado.
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